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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 2. Read the OP. Rocking 2500K's until HBM2 and beyond.

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Megabat

Member
I have an issue where playing a game on one monitor, and watching videos on the other, tanks the performance of the game.

For example, if I'm playing Dark Souls 3, it's usually 58-59.9 fps, but if I start to play a twitch vid on the second monitor, it drops to 40-49fps and becomes a stuttery mess.

2600k@4ghz, 980ti hybrid. Usage on both while playing game/vid is ~50%.

Anyone else have this problem, or maybe even a solution? Shit is frustrating.

Dark Souls 3 seems to be particularly CPU-intensive. What browser are you using, and how much RAM do you have?
 

Sykotik

Member
Dark Souls 3 seems to be particularly CPU-intensive. What browser are you using, and how much RAM do you have?

I'm using Chrome. 16gb of RAM, only 6 is being used while this is occurring. I did a quick try with Edge just to see, and I had the same results.

It does happen, though to a lesser extent, while playing other games. DS3 definitely takes a large hit, for whatever reason.

Edit: There's also an obvious correlation with the size of the video on the second monitor, as in if the video is fullscreen or only taking up a smaller portion of the screen. The larger the video window, the larger the performance hit.
 

Thorgal

Member
guys i need some help .

I have the CM storm Enforcer case and it is awesome .

However ,starting yesterday my frontal case fan started going louder and when playing a game goes of like a lawnmower .

I believe the cause is some massive Dust buildup in there .

Now to my main problem :

how do i get to the fan to clean it out ?

As far as i can tell it seems only possible if i where to take the entire piece apart that houses my harddrives and SSD which seems really clunky.

Is there no other way to get to that fan ?
 

LordAlu

Member
I'm using Chrome. 16gb of RAM, only 6 is being used while this is occurring. I did a quick try with Edge just to see, and I had the same results.

It does happen, though to a lesser extent, while playing other games. DS3 definitely takes a large hit, for whatever reason.

Edit: There's also an obvious correlation with the size of the video on the second monitor, as in if the video is fullscreen or only taking up a smaller portion of the screen. The larger the video window, the larger the performance hit.
Could also be Twitch's renderer. You could try using Livestreamer & VLC and see if it still happens?

guys i need some help .

I have the CM storm Enforcer case and it is awesome .

However ,starting yesterday my frontal case fan started going louder and when playing a game goes of like a lawnmower .

I believe the cause is some massive Dust buildup in there .

Now to my main problem :

how do i get to the fan to clean it out ?

As far as i can tell it seems only possible if i where to take the entire piece apart that houses my harddrives and SSD which seems really clunky.

Is there no other way to get to that fan ?
You should be able to just remove the front panel.

CMStormFront_zpslhqpmojj.png
 

Sykotik

Member
This is literally the only way you should be watching twitch on a computer, lol.

Don't forget the GUI.

I always do this for live broadcasts. The problem is if I want to watch a VoD of a previous broadcast, VLC doesn't have controls, so I can't skip ahead or back. Adding in specific time tags to the URL causes Livestreamer to not recognize the URL, too.

So much trouble for such a small task. lol
 
Okay, need a little help. Situations simple: I'm building a PC for a friend who streams a bit, and he hasn't been able to make his mind on a case. He finally settled on... this monstrosity of fabrication. That's fine. The issue is, it's pretty garbage and I'm tired of watching them somehow choose the worst possible case choices over and over. This one doesn't even have enough clearance in it for a 980ti thanks to how over-gratuitous the bays are.

Does anyone know of a similar looking case that is actually functional?
 

Elitist1945

Member
My motherboard manual lists all supported RAM as x4. As in, for example, 16GB of RAM would be 4x4 sticks. I don't HAVE to get 4 sticks of 4GB do I?
 

Canklestank

Neo Member
Okay, need a little help. Situations simple: I'm building a PC for a friend who streams a bit, and he hasn't been able to make his mind on a case. He finally settled on... this monstrosity of fabrication. That's fine. The issue is, it's pretty garbage and I'm tired of watching them somehow choose the worst possible case choices over and over. This one doesn't even have enough clearance in it for a 980ti thanks to how over-gratuitous the bays are.

Does anyone know of a similar looking case that is actually functional?

Here's some quick ones I found. It might be easier to narrow down the options if requirements were known like size and price range. For now these are sorted by US price. They all come with LED fans.

IN WIN GRone $114.99
CoolerMaster HAF 932 $144.99
Thermaltake Core V71 $146.98
CM Storm Trooper $159.99
Corsair 780T $196.18

Obviously there are tons of options. PCPartPicker is pretty good if you want to narrow down cases by certain features/price, etc.

My motherboard manual lists all supported RAM as x4. As in, for example, 16GB of RAM would be 4x4 sticks. I don't HAVE to get 4 sticks of 4GB do I?

No, I think they're just giving you the maximum.
 

LordAlu

Member
Okay, need a little help. Situations simple: I'm building a PC for a friend who streams a bit, and he hasn't been able to make his mind on a case. He finally settled on... this monstrosity of fabrication. That's fine. The issue is, it's pretty garbage and I'm tired of watching them somehow choose the worst possible case choices over and over. This one doesn't even have enough clearance in it for a 980ti thanks to how over-gratuitous the bays are.

Does anyone know of a similar looking case that is actually functional?
Corsair do smaller cases that are half decent without being a general box, and they tend to be relatively inexpensive:
 

Tomte Arme

Neo Member
use "--player-passthrough hls" command when you open the vod


I always do this for live broadcasts. The problem is if I want to watch a VoD of a previous broadcast, VLC doesn't have controls, so I can't skip ahead or back. Adding in specific time tags to the URL causes Livestreamer to not recognize the URL, too.

So much trouble for such a small task. lol
 
So I have too much money... In haste I bought a Newegg groupon for $90 which gave me a $100 gift card and 1 year of Newegg premier. But after having this groupon for a while, I have nothing to spend it on. I have a pretty powerful rig already (980ti, 16gb ram, 4670k, all the bells and whistles for other components) so that probably doesn't need help. What should I blow my money on?

edit: I mean there's always games... but why buy games when I can buy PC parts.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Recommendations for good and cheap case for Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 3 ATX with front USB 3.0?

Edit - I read the previous posts... what is the difference between Spec 1, 2 and 3... and the 100R??!
 

Elitist1945

Member
Try 1 stick of RAM.
I have never used QVL listed RAM and never ran into any issue. RAM is RAM.
Its more likely kit is DOA.

It doesn't even work with 1 stick of ram, no matter which slot I put it in.

EDIT: I've already exchanged the motherboard and RAM and the issue still persists.
 

Elitist1945

Member
Refund kit, get another. Or test in another system to rule out the other parts. RAM never worked?

How do you know its the RAM? RAM light is lit?

I've already refunded the RAM and gotten another. I get an error code 53 which according to my manual is a RAM compatibility issue.
 

IndustryX

Member
CPU Cooler: Get the Noctua D15.

GPU: Pascal is soon? But you should be able to find a much better deal if you want a 970 now. I'd buy the other components now, and wait a few months for the new GPU to ship. If it turns out to be a big disappointment, then 970 prices will still go down. However, I highly recommend the msi twin frozor 305 dollars currently with rebate ( https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx970gaming4g ) It's an amazing card. The fans are insane. Super Silent. So cool, and 110 dollars cheaper than your Asus version.

The reason for pricing is the CAD. Thanks for your input. I would love to get a monitor like that but unfortunately won't be able to afford it. I'm looking at a 144HZ monitor mainly for Counter Strike.
 

Canklestank

Neo Member
How do I go about updating the BIOS? I can't get the PC to POST.

You don't need to POST or have RAM installed to use BIOS Flashback. Copypasta:

USB BIOS Flashback
USB BIOS Flashback allows you to easily update the BIOS without entering the existing BIOS or operating system. Simply insert a USB storage device to the USB port, press the USB BIOS Flashback button for three seconds, and the BIOS is updated automatically.

26483211986_e25a906a61_b.jpg


Use a USB 2.0 drive with a single partition and formatted to FAT32.

*snip*

Download BIOS from here:
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards...Desk_Download/

More Info:
User Manual
 

Elitist1945

Member
You don't need to POST or have RAM installed to use BIOS Flashback. Copypasta:

Thanks! Praying this works.

EDIT: How do I know I'm doing it right? I downloaded the file from ASUS' site, put it on a USB, plugged it in to the BIOS USB port, held the button down but as far as I can tell nothing happens.
 

Canklestank

Neo Member
Thanks! Praying this works.

EDIT: How do I know I'm doing it right? I downloaded the file from ASUS' site, put it on a USB, plugged it in to the BIOS USB port, held the button down but as far as I can tell nothing happens.

EDIT: Well, other than trying RAM from the original compatibility list or returning the motherboard for another one again. I don't know what to tell you.
 

jonaa

Neo Member
That's some real luck there! An SSD is a good idea; I can't imagine ever needing more than 250GB in tandem with a large mechanical drive.

I wouldn't worry about the CPU right now. It's fast enough as-is. If you do want to upgrade, I'd recommend a Xeon E3-1241 for ~$250. I'm assuming the motherboard has a B- or H- chipset. If it's a Z97, you could get a 4690K for ~$200. And hey, even with a high-end CPU upgrade, it's still hundreds of dollars cheaper than from-scratch.

Personally, I would let that GPU ride for another year or so. It's pretty much all you'll ever need for 1080p, and I'd consider it pretty good at 1440p.

Yeah, so, good as-is, but a solid SSD and a Xeon would be good investments.

I got myself a 250GB SSD today, it sure did the trick as far as overall responsiveness goes.

The motherboard is a z87 from what I can tell. So not sure it supports the processor you suggested.

The full spec of the computer can be found here:
http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=c03937601
 

ChuckNyce

Member
Completed my new rig a couple weeks ago but realized I never posted it in here. Ended up going with the following -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $239.00)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $65.95)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (Purchased For $138.00)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (Purchased For $79.99)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $87.44)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $71.99)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (Purchased For $676.00)
Case: Lian-Li PC-V359WX MicroATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $189.00)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $78.10)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit) (Purchased For $107.00)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series White 2 pack 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.76 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series White 2 pack 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.69 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series White 2 pack 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.69 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 60Hz 27.0" Monitor (Purchased For $402.00)
Total: $2184.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-25 17:03 EDT-0400

25989685203_1136faac94_z.jpg


25989680193_c071f504e2_z.jpg


26500261812_1129cc7b47_z.jpg


There's a few more pictures and a write up on the build here.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Let's see what I have for now...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($675.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($999.00)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($352.00)
Total: $2026.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-25 17:34 EDT-0400

* The prices are in Brazilian Real.

I'm trying to figure which memory use... any recommendation?

R$589 G.skill Ripjaws V Series 3200 16GB (8x2)
R$476 Cosair Vengeance 2400 16GB (8x2)
R$559 Cosair Vengeance 2800 16GB (8x2)
 

crpav

Member
IT WORKS. I LOVE YOU GUYS <3.

Awesome! Was about to freak out having to read about your continued issues and couldn't/didn't help you further last week when I replied a few times. I have the same board but never updated the firmware. Suppose I could but if it's working I say why.
 

scogoth

Member
OMG I'm so confuse with SSD.

M.2
SATA Express
NVMe

Which choose for my mobo?

M.2 and SATA Express are different physical connectors. You don't want to use SATA Express, if you can even find it, as its already pretty much been replaced by M.2 and U.2 connectors.

M.2 comes in different sizes and keyed slots, make sure you look up what your motherboard supports. (B-keyed/M-keyed)

NVMe is a protocol used by the drives to communicate with the host computer. It can operate over PCIe, M.2 or U.2 physical connecters. It is the best for SSDs but more expensive and more limited selection.
 

ethomaz

Banned
M.2 and SATA Express are different physical connectors. You don't want to use SATA Express, if you can even find it, as its already pretty much been replaced by M.2 and U.2 connectors.

M.2 comes in different sizes and keyed slots, make sure you look up what your motherboard supports. (B-keyed/M-keyed)

NVMe is a protocol used by the drives to communicate with the host computer. It can operate over PCIe, M.2 or U.2 physical connecters. It is the best for SSDs but more expensive and more limited selection.
So I need to choose M.2 SSDs and if my budget allow with NVMe support?

About the size I guess it is these numbers in bold?

2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x4/x2/x1 SSD support)

Thanks.
 

mulac

Member
Picked up the Logitech G900 Chaos Wireless Gaming Mouse for my latest build.

All I can say is, WOW. This thing blows every other device out the water (including the MX Master I use for work).

Its clearly over-spending and utterly luxury item especially in Australia where the thing cost me +$200AUD (thank you mr bonus!). But damn the thing is beautiful and I'm loving the accuracy in CS: GO.

Highly recommended.
 

B.K.

Member
I bought a HP computer, since it was cheaper to buy than build, but I want to put a second hard drive in it. What's a good hard drive to buy? I haven't bought a desktop hard drive in years. Last time I bought one, Seagate was still the best.
 
Hey bros,
I'm actually happy with my computer, but I have a question about something, and I wasn't sure if I should make a whole thread about it.

When I play PC games, I will randomly have the game lose focus and minimize to the desktop. I have no idea why it happens, or what is causing it. I have to click back to the game, at which point it usually happens again a few seconds later.

Then, once I've wrestled the focus back a couple times, the problem disappears, and I'll never have that problem again as long as the game is running. I've had this happen with all sorts of games, from The Witcher 3 to Rocket League. It happens whether or not I'm using a controller or KB/M. It happens regardless of which monitor I'm playing the game on.

I'm not sure what's causing the problem, and in my searching I found this app: http://www.happydroid.com/focus

I've seen it talked about in other forums (such as here: http://forum.sysinternals.com/figuring-out-whats-stealing-window-focus_topic27767_page1.html) but when I downloaded it I got a virus warning from Windows Defender.

Has anybody had any experience with this kind of issue? Anybody used the Focus.exe app I linked to? Is it safe?

Anyway, just figured I'd ask because it really sucks to suddenly lose focus in the middle of a tight Rocket League match, which has happened to me a few times this past weekend.
 
Opinions on cooling for overclocked i7-6800K? Like 4.something GHz?

Am I joining the ranks of custom loop or will I be looking at a 280mm AIO?
 

CBTech

Member
I'm looking to upgrade my PC within the next 1-3 months. My motherboard is dying so I'm doing a near full upgrade. The only parts I'm keeping are my case, GTX 970, hard drive, and maybe power supply. I'm looking to get an intel CPU and am looking roughly at the Enthusiast build in the OP. Any recent releases that I should be aware of or things come up in the near future I should hold out for?
 
Build completed, Windows installed, and steam too. I don't know if you guys remember me. I started my building a few weeks ago and got banned for a week so I couldn't post lol. What do I do now? My ram, GPU, and drives are detected properly so all seems good on that front. I ran Windows updates and it seems to figured out the drivers and stuff. Anything else I need to do or check before I jump in?
 
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